Certo! Va bene.

Questions & Answers about Certo! Va bene.

Literally, what does va bene mean?
Va comes from the verb andare (to go) and means "it goes". Bene means "well". So, literally, it means "it goes well"! Italians use this phrase all the time to say "okay", "all right", or "that works".
Why isn't there a word for "it" before va?
In Italian, you usually drop the subject pronouns (like I, you, he, she, it) because the verb itself already tells you who or what is doing the action. Va is the "he/she/it" form, so all by itself it means "it goes".
Could I say è bene instead of va bene to mean "it's all right"?
No, to agree to something or say "okay", you must use the idiom va bene. Translating "it is well" word-for-word into è bene doesn't work for agreeing to things in Italian.
Is certo related to the English word "certain"?
Yes! Certo literally means "certain" or "sure". When used on its own as an exclamation like in this sentence, it translates to "certainly," "of course," or "sure."

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